I don’t know what to say.

Unintentional or not, the Ambiguity section of the Wikipedia article on the serial comma is hilarious. I don’t often laugh out loud while reading, but definitely did so at this.

I meant to chop the rose bush down nearly to the ground this winter, but never got around to it. It’s a lopsided mess, and will probably pull itself right out of the ground the next time it gets windy.

In the meantime, however, it’s going to do a bit of this:

And this:

I’m satisfied.

(I’m even more satisfied that these pictures were taken with the excellent 5MP camera built into my iPad. If you’d like to see the full-resolution versions, let me know and I’ll send ‘em your way.)

I like what I’ve heard of their music, but haven’t felt an overpowering desire to seek out any new tunes. Perhaps it’s because their videos are so amazing that I’m worried I’ll be disappointed by the audio without accompanying visuals.

In any case, here’s their latest. The guys are geniuses.

Please tell me I’m not the only one that wants to eat this.

Daily.

Hello.

You really should just read Daring Fireball instead of this blog.

Happy Thursday, everybody!

(Thanks to John Gruber for the link and blog post title.)

Edit: It looks like somebody couldn’t take a joke, so the video is down. It certainly seemed like those clips were used to create a parody, but what do I know?

The most important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and taking one’s self seriously. The first is imperative, and the second disastrous.

The real question, then, is this: What is your work, as opposed to your job?

So, we’re on to Donnell’s second Girl Scout Badge challenge, though I’m late, late, late.

My Self-Portrait

I don’t like photographs of myself. My face is a little asymmetrical, and I have an angry red spot on my neck.

Five Things That Are Wonderful About Me

1. I’m emotional. I cry during movie scenes when people show great strength and integrity in the face of adversity, I cannot help but smile at the sound of people laughing or the sight of old couples holding hands, and I am quick to anger when I witness injustice. People rarely have to wonder about my mood, so I figure over the years I’ve saved many of my acquaintances hours of time which they were able to spend in better ways.
2. I’m easygoing. Usually. When it really counts. (There are a few exceptions, of course: I’m usually content to let people be themselves unless their stupidity starts affecting my ability to have fun, I don’t like when people don’t respect my hard work, and I don’t like being late. I expect Donnell can come up with a few other examples.) The way I see it, I am just one person of of seven billion, just one creature out of a number so big I can’t understand it, and my molecules are insignificant in the face of the observable universe. To think that I have even a tiny measure of control over the amazing variety of events that will transpire in my lifetime is laughable. All I can do is be true to myself, try to take the right path when I hit a fork in the road, and hang on for the ride. I’m usually easy to be with, and in my experience that’s a real rarity.
3. I love. It’s easy for me. I love (in no particular order) my wife, my mother, my father, my brother, the remainder of family, my friends, my dog, and my cat (sort of). I love, in an entirely different way, authors, scientists, poets, strangers, enemies, aliens, pandas, mountains, trees, wombats, Burmese Mountain Dogs, and everybody else. I am compassionate and empathic, and I believe that we all suffer (except the mountains, because they truly are not alive). It makes all of us alike in a way, part of a great amazing web of life and experience, and I cannot help but feel grateful that everything, everywhere, ever, led in some way to me being here, now, with my Donnell.
4. I think you’re great. There’s something about you that I either adore, admire, or simply respect. Even those people I really don’t like to be with can have a certain je ne sais quoi, even if it’s just an uncanny ability to get under my skin. A few years back, Donnell assigned her class the task of listing something that other kids in the class were good at, and some of the responses were along the lines of “So-and-so is really good at being stupid”. It’s a legitimate response, even if it wasn’t appreciated. That’s probably not the case with you, of course. You are truly great at something that I appreciate, and I really like that about you.
5. I’m an optimist. I like to think that I’m the person I’ve just described in the four previous items, even though I know that I’m only rarely that person through and through. I can be that person. We all can, and things are going to get better. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or the next day, but eventually. Sadness will pass, along with uncertainty and pain and doubt and fear and everything else that makes us unhappy. The sun’s going to come out eventually, and somebody’s going to tell you a great joke, and you’re going to eat something totally new and fantastic, and it’s all going to happen soon. I hope I’m there for it. I can hardly wait.

Two Talents

1. I am a talented problem-solver. I enjoy being presented with a puzzle or problem or conundrum, and being given an opportunity to work out the solution. I can sometimes take this too far, by focusing on the problem-solving process rather than on the solution itself, and I’m not necessarily good at executing a solution once one is devised, but I never claimed to be talented at follow-through.
2. I am good at learning new skills. Not necessarily to the point of proficiency, but to the level where I’m willing to speak at length on the subject. I’ve crocheted 95% of a doily, knit a hat and scarf, designed and assembled my own free-roaming, wheeled robot, designed web pages, coded database systems, installed laminate flooring, sheet-rocked a room, and a few dozen other things. I know I’m not great at any of those things (yet), but I’m always ready to find the next new challenge.

My Award

My Goals

This is probably the hardest part of the challenge, because it doesn’t involve talking about myself and it does involve revealing to the public ten things that I would like to do but (let’s be honest) probably won’t. I’m great at making plans but not so great at executing them, as mentioned above.

I should note that I almost fell into the trap of making vague statements for my goals, rather than concrete, achievable tasks. Bad, bad Chris! (See more here.)

Additionally, I’m not listing my usual goals (be a good husband, pay the bills on time, etc.) because they’re more properly habits, though habits that I occasionally falter on.

Five For The Year

1. Buy and use OmniFocus to plan, track, and keep on top of every project (where a project is a task that requires more than one step). I already have the iPad and iPhone versions of the software and like them, but don’t use them nearly enough.
2. Write an iOS app and publish it in the App Store. I don’t care what kind of app it is.
3. Pay off a substantial amount (at least 40%) of our debt. I’d love to say 50%, but I’d rather shoot a little low and be happy if/when I exceed my goal. Besides, debt becomes easier to handle as balances get lower and they incur less interest. I’ll be happy with 40%, very happy with 50%, and ecstatic with more.
4. Put off personal purchasing decisions for items that cost more than $75 for at least one full month after deciding to buy.
5. Dress like a grownup at least three times a month.

Five For The Next Month

1. Whip the web site for The Stitchin’ Place (our friend Gretchen’s new business venture) into shape and deploy it.
2. Make a Cunning Jayne Cobb Hat.
3. Finish rebuilding the ‘time machine’ souvenir prop for Drew, and then give it to him.
4. Make and eat breakfast at home at least once a week.
5. Complete the next Badge Challenge on time.

The Letters

Complimentary e-mails will be going out shortly.

After an amazingly hot summer, the weather has finally turned. Our new Bradford Pear tree, having narrowly avoided death by dehydration, is now a little confused.

Boy is he going to be surprised when it dips below freezing in a few weeks. (The camera on the iPhone 4 does have nice depth of field, doesn’t it?)